Which insured that the skies grew clear last night and today sunlight came over the hills with the morning light. And I just want to be very clear that I’m OK with that.

Had planned to vote the straight Nikwax Ticket, but REI was out of the wash (computer showed three…) so I opted for a generic “SportWash” which the cashier helpfully agreed was pretty much the same thing. Washed the jacket* (and my non-breathable shell and windvest, plus the cute-but-dumb Voler “Rain” Gloves). Then, continuing to follow the directions to the letter, ran the washer on Warm/Heavy, filled it the absolute minimum, dumped in the TX.DIRECT and locked it down.

Upon completion, my initial reaction was “What the HELL did I just do to my jacket?” as it came out looking like a horribly grimy, misused, stained and see-through version of itself. Every seam tape, underpiece, zipper reinforcement and dit-dot of color (at some point my red wool jersey must’ve bled into it) that wasn’t the basic yellow seemed to be contrasted in high relief.

Luckily, I’ve had the jacket for long enough that it was not going to really bother me in its new condition. Ok, it was. But, it isn’t like a new jacket is in the budget right now.

After hanging it in the shower to drip-dry a bit, the fabric s-l-o-w-l-y began to return to its more uniform tone. By bedtime, it was about halfway there. This morning, it actually looks better than it has in a while - though my impression may be skewed by how grungy it looked fresh-from-the-washer.

Of course, in the short time it has taken me to type this, the showers have begun again, so I could probably test it if I wanted to…

Tires showed up on the doorstep last night. While I was rummaging around REI, I found a few road snackies - a couple packs of the Clif Cider electrolyte drink mix, a couple packs of the Clif Shot Blocks and something called “Java Juice” which is coffee extract in what appears to be the world’s largest soy sauce takeout packet. According to the packet, you add the contents to 10-12 oz of hot or cold water and you have a cup of coffee. It’s even shade grown and fair trade.

You never know when you might need that little kick of caffeine, and it’s best to be reasonably self-sufficient in the Big Valley.

*The jacket is a Pearl Izumi model, the name of which escapes me. It uses eVent waterproof/breathable fabric and was purchased maybe six years ago on a trip to Portland.